


I'm Not Jealous

by Flightless_Bird



Category: Free!
Genre: I don't know what I'm doing with these tags, M/M, Sousuke likes to tease him, Wrote this kinda fast, girls think Nitori's cute, so does Rin, takes place during eternal summer, you should just read it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-22 00:44:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7411804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flightless_Bird/pseuds/Flightless_Bird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At a public pool's fun-day event, two girls notice Nitori. Rin notices something too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Not Jealous

**Author's Note:**

> Ehh, this fic was written a bit fast and over the course of three days, so it might not be that great.... But obviously, I must not care, because I'm putting it on here for the public XD. Read and enjoy! Leave a review if you liked it :)

Rin didn't like events like this, not when this kind of people showed up.

Being forced to come to this public pool a sort-of fun day to teach kids was already torture enough. He had to sit there and watch kids who didn't know what they were doing in his water. Smaller kids splashed around with inner tubes brought from home and adults lounged in corners. Rin leaned against a wall near the back, alone and (call him immature for it) sulking. He itched to feel the water rush between his fingers and show them what a real swimmer looked like. Sighing, he glanced away as a boy cannon-balled in, sending a wave shimmering up into the light. 

The team had been helpfully informed that, in order to "not intimidate the smaller children," they were not allowed to show off. In other words, they were banned from doing anything in that pool other than helping children. 

It was like handing Rin a rope and telling him to go hang himself. Honestly, what could he do with KIDS? Helping Rei learn how to swim was hard enough and he wouldn't complain about the water being cold, or splash him in the face, or ask why his teeth looked so funny. Rin had opted on playing the role of lifeguard, which meant he was basically going to lean against this wall for the remainder of the day unless someone was idiotic enough to drown themselves.

"Honestly," he muttered to himself, "this is a waste of my time."

A sudden sound of someone entering the water pulled him out of his thoughts for a second. That wasn't the smack kind of sound that came from a toddler who didn't know what they were doing. That was something familiar. He blinked when he spotted a silvery head appear in the middle of the pool, having swum out there with far more speed than the others. Nitori, of course, and he was explaining something to a younger boy. The small brunette crossed his arms atop a board he'd brought and Nitori did the same as they talked. Maybe he had been showing the kid what a dive looked like? Either way, it was a pretty good dive, considering how far Nitori had come since Rin first met him. 

Crossing his arms, Rin let a smile play over his lips. It wasn't every day you had a boy plow into you, stammering apologies while trying to explain that you were roommates and he swore he wasn't this clumsy all the time (he was). Out in the water, the brunette said something that made Nitori laugh, nose wrinkled and a slight pink in his face.

"Aww, isn't he cute?"   
Rin nearly fell over. Glancing to his right, he saw two girls, both younger and in brightly colored swimsuits. One of them, a pretty blonde, clasped her hands under her chin and sighed dreamily. "I wish I could meet a guy like him, don't you, Izzy?" she asked.

The other girl (Izzy?) nodded, auburn bangs swinging about round green eyes. "Who wouldn't? He's adorable, and I bet he's really sweet, too. Look at how he's helping that little boy!" They collapsed into loud awww!'s and wide smiles, gazing out at the boy grinning gratefully up at Nitori. 

"We should go ask him his name!"

"We already know who he is, though; he's on the swim team, after all."

"Well, we can pretend we don't. That way, we have an excuse to talk to him!"

Rin gaped silently at the girls. What the hell? What kind of girl would find NITORI that attractive? He was— He didn't— This wasn't normal. Growling under his breath that they were acting like morons, he looked back out over the water again. Nitori had said goodbye to the boy and was heading back toward the edge of the pool. Lithe limbs cut through the water as he ducked under to swim the last stretch underwater. Even when he wasn't racing, he moved effortlessly. Despite being younger and smaller, Nitori still held that same fluid movements that his teammates did. All swimmers did. Rin watched as Nitori surfaced and pushed his hair out of his face, catching his breath. He always had that one drop of water that would slip from his bangs down his nose...

"Staring isn't polite, you know."

"Dammit, Sousuke!" Rin hissed, jerking as Sousuke spoke from right next to him. If he kept sneaking up on him, Rin swore, he was going to shove him into the pool where the old ladies were. Huffing, he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. "I wasn't staring."

Cyan eyes twinkled playfully and Sousuke rested a shoulder against the wall. "Why don't you take a picture? They last longer." 

"I wasn't staring," Rin growled again. Sousuke chuckled and Rin glowered, sharpened teeth bared. "Don't laugh at me."

"You're so easy to rile up, Rin. All anyone has to do is mention Nitori and you'll bare your fangs," he joked, stretching and making the fabric of his blue tee strain across his wide shoulders.

Self-conscious, Rin clamped his mouth shut and jerked his gaze away. "Shut up," he snapped.

"You know I'm kidding."

"I don't care."

"Really, Rin, I'm kidding."

"I still don't give a shit." 

But Sousuke took one look at the sulky, almost-pout Rin was giving the floor and gave a burst of laughter. Rin couldn't stay mad at him for long and he knew it. Especially when he was right. 

His captain got it bad for Nitori. He just wasn't ready to admit it yet.

"All right, I'll stop teasing," Sousuke assured and set his hand on Rin's shoulder briefly. His response was a snort and his hand being shrugged off in stubbornness. Sighing, he pushed away from the wall to see if a few kids needed help at the end of the pool. He paused a few steps away and glanced back, suddenly more serious. "But don't keep him waiting too long. You'll miss your chance and he's already been waiting a lot longer than you have." Then he was gone and Rin gaped after him in shock.

Nitori. Rin and Nitori. As if. Rin didn't know what world Sousuke was living in, thinking that Rin would actually return any sort of feelings Nitori might have for him. Scratch that, any feelings he DID have for him. It was painfully obvious and a bit annoying, actually, and there was no way in hell that Rin felt anything like—

Two girls' voices, high-pitched and filled with such happiness, it oozed out onto the floor: "Ai-chan, you were amazing!" 

"Yes! You should swim for us sometime!"

Rin turned his glare on Izzy and that blonde again, eyebrows rising when he saw Nitori now next to them. The grey-haired boy toed the floor bashfully, droplets dripping from his hair and down his arms. "Oh, uh, thanks," he stammered, hand scratching the back of his head. "I—I don't know if I'm the best person to swim for you, though..."

"You totally are!" Izzy gushed. "You were so fast and you helped that boy when he needed you. I know a lot of guys who wouldn't do that."

"Everyone needs help sometimes," Nitori hedged, unused to compliments. This sent the girls into giggles and silly blushes, while he looked on in shyness. 

Rin smoldered. Those stupid, mindless little— Ai only swims for me. He was marching over to the girls before his mind could tell him that he was acting just as stupid as they were. "Ai!" 

Nitori and the girls jumped, Izzy squeaking something about Nitori protecting her. Jesus, seriously?! Then Nitori recognized his captain and the bright smile was back. "Rin-senpai!" he greeted cheerily. "I was about to tell these two really nice girls about you!" He gazed up at Rin through admiring blue eyes. "They'd love for you to show them what you can do, right, guys?" 

Rin shifted his scowl from Nitori to the girls. Izzy continued to ogle Nitori, while the blonde stared at Rin in what resembled extreme awe. "W—we actually wanted to see Nitori try something," the blonde managed. She wasn't very convincing, not with the way her eyes were glued to the strip of skin Rin's open jacket showed. 

"Yeah," Izzy agreed, stronger and with too much attitude for Rin's liking. She stuck her hands on her hips. "I like how Ai-chan swims."

Rin's wine-colored eyes flashed. "You do, huh?"

"I do." Damn her, she had a will to match his.

"Maybe you should let him get back to swimming then." An undercurrent of warning rolled beneath his words.

"Maybe I wanna talk to him before he does." 

Rin narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Why don't you stop wasting his time and go pine over someone else?" he asked, nasty, and Nitori's face went a hundred shades of red.

"Oh, grow up," Izzy shot back, mouth curled snobbishly. Rin bristled.

"Oh—Please don't fight," Nitori tried weakly. "It's really not that—"

"Who let a brat like you in here anyway?" Rin's hands were curling into fists at his sides. He wouldn't beat up a girl; that'd just get him in trouble. But he wasn't going to stand here and let her speak to him like that.

Izzy's eyes flickered angrily. "What's your problem?" she demanded. "God, if you didn't want us hitting on your crush, you could've said so instead of acting like a jealous idiot!"

If blushing could kill, Nitori would've been dead at that instant. Rin gritted his teeth and ordered himself not to react the way he really wanted to. Instead, he grabbed Nitori by the arm and gave a rough tug. "Ai! We're leaving," he announced harshly, already turning away from an outraged Izzy. Her cries were easy to ignore though, fading into the crimson background of Rin's anger. He was seething. 

"O—okay, senpai." Nitori didn't argue, didn't even protest to the way he was pulled away. He just fell into step beside Rin in that quiet, trusting way of his. Blindly loyal, like a dumb puppy.

Except he wasn't dumb. 

Rin softened as he cooled off from the argument, hands back in his pockets and a scowl plastered to his face. Nitori had never dumb, not from the first day of swim practice. He was passionate, and kind, and could now swim far better than many kids on the team. An uncomfortable feeling settled in Rin's stomach. There was a lot of treatment that had been going on that Nitori didn't deserve.

They'd made it halfway around the side of the pool when Nitori piped up hesitantly. "Rin-senpai—?"

"I'm not jealous," Rin cut him off quickly, halting. He didn't know why he said it. He felt that it needed to be said.

Nitori cocked his head. "I never thought you were. I was...going to ask you something."

"What?"

Nitori looked up into the dark scarlet eyes, half-lidded with lingering annoyance and fixed on him. His gaze dropped away. "It's not important. Never mind."

Huffing to himself, Rin glanced away. They were the only two standing here. It was a new pool he hadn't been to yet, with benches set at the side to create bleachers for parents to watch their children practice. The railing of the bleachers was next to them and Rin turned to lean against it, staring out over the pool. He felt Nitori's presence like an itch. "Sorry," he muttered at last. "For pulling you away so hard, I mean."

"That's okay," Nitori replied, with a hint of his usual cheer. 

"I was just mad."

"I know, senpai"

Rin studied the floor under his shoes. He felt weird and he didn't like it. But don't keep him waiting too long. One of his hands curled into a fist in his pocket. "...you don't have to call me that, you know," he ventured, low.

Nitori's confusion was nearly palpable. "What do you...?"

At this, Rin blew out a harsh exhale, exasperated with himself and this entire freaking day. Why did this shit have to be so hard? He was acting ridiculous. "You can call me by my name, Nitori. It's not like I care about calling you 'Ai.'" Still looking at his shoes, still hesitant and foolish and wondering what the hell had come over him, he added, lower, "I wanna hear you say my name." 

There was a long minute of nothing but water splashing and kids' laughter. Rin refused to move or say another word. On the outside, he had to maintain the same coldness he always did. Maybe then he could ignore how his heart felt like it might beat right out of his chest. It jumped when Nitori's voice tentatively spoke, "R—Rin-senpai?"

Rin glared instinctively. "Christ, Ai, I told you—" He broke off when he lifted his gaze and came face-to-face with Nitori; he'd moved in front of him, cautious and slow, shaking fingers wrapping around the railing. He'd pinned Rin between his arms. Rin's eyes widened, shock flitting across his features. He could see the little flecks of darker blue in Nitori's eyes and that beauty mark above his cheekbone. Shit, when did Nitori learn to make Rin feel like this?

"...Rin?"

God. He smelled like chlorine, and Rin had the irrational want to nuzzle into his neck and inhale. He wanted him to say it again. What was he even thinking? "What?" He sounded too quiet and too wanting, even to himself.

"Y—you wanted me to say your name," Nitori stammered in reply. His blush reached his ears now, as though he was mortified at himself for daring to behave like this. And in PUBLIC.

Rin was frozen, just by the sky-colored gaze of this boy. He was a whole head taller than Nitori and yet, he was the one trapped against a railing by him. "Say it again."

"What?" Nitori asked, surprised.

And Rin had to tease, as he always did. He dropped his head forward, foreheads nearly touching as strands of red hair grazed over Nitori's bangs. He heard Nitori gasp and saw the tremble that ran up the boy's arms. He was still brave enough to pin Rin to the railing and Rin would by lying if he said that wasn't kind of hot. "Say my name again," he murmured.

Nitori swallowed hard, taking a couple shallow breaths like he'd just left the pool after a race. "Rin—mmph." 

Rin covered Nitori's mouth with his before he could get his sense back. He had to do it now, when he felt vulnerable and softer, because he'd never have the courage to do it again. There was a gasp against his lips, Nitori's hands flying up under his chin in a show of uncertainty and astonishment. Rin wound a possessive hand around his waist and hauled him close, until their stomachs were together. Lingering drops of water slid from Nitori's hair and pressed into Rin from his swimsuit. He couldn't have cared less the moment Nitori finally started kissing back, shy as ever. His head tilted, fingers curling in Rin's jacket collar and tugging him in. At the same time, his body pushed forward and pressed Rin back against the railing. 

In the safety of his mind, Rin imagined that they still shared a room; that maybe it was a mattress against his back instead of a cold railing, that maybe Nitori would do all the things that came after kissing, and in the dark, there'd just be them. 

It was the first time he'd admitted to himself that he wanted that, all of that, since the first time he met his old roommate.

Tentative, Nitori gently nipped Rin's lip between soft kisses.

Rin caught Nitori's bottom lip in reply, baring sharp teeth in a smirk and making the shorter boy laugh breathlessly.

There were a lot of things that could be said without words.

"I can't believe..." Nitori broke away and ducked his head, a flush spreading across his cheeks. They were still in front of people, after all. "I can't believe you kissed me."

"Don't rub it in," Rin scoffed, ignoring the way his own ears burned. But he didn't move his hand from the small of Nitori's back. "It's just a one-time thing."

Nitori's face lifted to look into his, then fell after a second. "...oh."

Smiling a bit, Rin leaned down, catching the way Nitori's breath hitched, and whispered in his ear, "next time, I wanna kiss you without people watching us."

"O—Oh." Nitori shivered and damn, he was the cutest thing that Rin had never noticed. "Okay, senpai."

Planting a hand on his head, Rin ruffled his hair. "I told you to call me by my name, Ai."

"...okay, Rin." Nitori smiled warmly.

Guess I didn't keep him waiting too long, after all, Rin thought wryly. Right now, he felt pleasantly numb, and his spine hurt from being against the railing, and there was the taste of Nitori on his lips. Maybe the shock of what he'd done would catch up to him later. It didn't matter.

He'd noticed Nitori, and he was pretty sure he was going to keep noticing him.


End file.
